


Incongruent Conditions

by Oh_Hey_Its



Category: Tegan and Sara (Band)
Genre: F/F, Vampire!Sara, Werewolf!Tee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2018-09-26 18:47:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9916160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_Hey_Its/pseuds/Oh_Hey_Its
Summary: No matter how far we run, we cannot escape the monsters inside.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to post this until I got more written but some emotionally stunted person decided to reblog me some hate and what better way to return the favor than to post some fic in their honor? So this one is for you @billy11agiro. Have fun fucking off in hell.

####  **Tegan**

I never asked to be a monster. There is nothing glamorous about it; popular culture has indoctrinated far too many with its alluring lies. It is exhausting to live in a constant fear of the change, of the agony that comes with my bones breaking and reforming, of hair sprouting and thickening to cover what was once human skin. What I have become is not who I used to be. I just want to be normal again.

That is impossible of course, I know this. Even if the attack had never happened, I’d still be ostracized and avoided. I’m the daughter of a paranoid conspiracy theorist; I grew up in the woods, it would only make sense that I would eventually become a part of them myself.

It is the night that always makes me restless. The moon calls to me as it waxes and wanes, it’s beckoning growing stronger and stronger until it becomes full and I lose myself to Her. As soon as the change is complete I must run, paws digging into the pliant earth, wind rushing through my fur. Only the satisfaction of my jaws clenching down on some lesser creature’s throat, its blood oozing between my dagger-like teeth and onto my tongue, slows Her down in the slightest. She lives for the warm metallic tang of fresh blood and I am powerless to stop Her.

When I return after the night of the full moon I am always naked, exhausted, sweat-streaked, alone. Sometimes it can take me more than a day to return home to the small house I rent on the edge of town. I have clothes stashed all over; under rocks, hanging from tree limbs. Clothing is a precious commodity for one who has accidentally shredded more than their fair share involuntarily.

The point is, I’m just trying to survive. What else can I do? My janitorial job at the local college allows for me to buy groceries and pay the cable bill… what more could a Wolf possibly need?

####  **Sara**

Human blood is like a fine wine; rich and intoxicating, exuding a nearly irresistible scent. It’s a drug more powerful than anything the human’s themselves might manage to come up with, and while I crave it constantly, I am not an addict. I can resist if I want to, something I find myself being forced to do more and more lately. My food has started to become suspicious of something happening around them, the sickness they feel after the ecstasy of a feeding growing worse and worse the longer I hang around and continue to take my fill. It’s about time I moved on anyway.

I was turned when I was twenty-four and I’ve remained frozen at that age since. In all actuality, I am around four-hundred years old. I have merely moved about from place to place; absorbing the culture, watching the world turn around me. It’s quite fascinating, really. Sometimes I decide I wish to return to school, sometimes I take jobs at colleges and teach instead, sometimes I do nothing more than read and work on my own private writings.

I wouldn’t say I am happy with this life, no, but it is nice enough. I like having all the time in the world to do as I please, to enjoy this life’s comforts. The feeling of the sun on my skin and the old photographs I occasionally return to pull me through when the times get rough and I can’t help but feel hopeless and entirely alone.

Still, though, I always end up a little apprehensive when the time comes to find a new place to settle for awhile. I think I’m sick of the hustle and bustle of the city at the moment, I want someplace quiet to continue my personal studies. I haven’t been upstate since the 1940’s… I wonder if it’s still as beautiful now as it once was then.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured I'd post the next chapter since the first one is more introductory and not all that long. As of right now I have things formatted so that every chapter is alternating from Tegan to Sara's POV, so next chapter will delve into Sara's head a little more.

####  **Tegan**

It feels as though I’ve just fallen asleep when someone knocking at the door rouses me. I groan, burrowing further beneath my blankets. Now is not a good time for this… the full moon is tonight and already I can feel Her starting to seep slowly into my essence.

“Tegan you better open up!”

Fuck. It’s Emy… my landlord. I haven’t been able to make my full rent payment for the past two months. This is not going to end well.

Wearily forcing myself from the comfort of my mattress, I run a hand through my sleep mussed hair with a sigh and stumble for the door. Emy is standing impatiently on the other side as I open it, hands on her hips, one eyebrow raised.

“Jeez Tee you look like hell.”

“Thanks.” I mutter dryly, immediately going into damage control mode. “Listen I know it’s not enough again okay? I’m trying to scrape the money together I promise. I can give you like, maybe a third of it right now and then when I get paid again on Friday I’ll be able to give you a little more. I just need time.”

“Tegan look…” Emy sighs. “I know you’re struggling alright?”

“I am not struggling Em.” I interject. “I just… last month’s hospital bills kinda pushed me into the red more than I had originally planned for. I’m getting there though, I promise. I’ll just miss the payment on them due next week to get you the rest of the rent. No big deal.”

“Tegan you don’t want to do that… you’ll have debt collectors hounding your every move. Here’s the bottom line okay? The last thing I want to do is evict you but I do need the money. I think you should consider getting a roommate, you have the extra bedroom and with another person helping with the rent you’ll be able to make it easily. I’ll still get what I’m owed and you’ll still end up with somewhere to live. It’s a win-win.”

A roommate? Shit… definitely not a good idea.

“I’ve already got somebody hooked up, she’s your age and she’s looking for somewhere to stay in the area. Said she wanted a place near the woods or something… I can’t remember exactly, but I told her I’d put her up.”

“Em… you can’t. T-That is a  _ really  _ bad idea. I don’t think I’m housemate material.” I blurt. 

 

“Sorry Tee, but this is happening. She seems quiet, I highly doubt she’ll cause much of a problem. Get the house cleaned up and get your shit out of the extra room. She’ll be here in three days to meet you and get her stuff moved in alright?”

I sigh, my head lowering in defeat. “Fine.”

“Great! I’ll text you when we’re on our way over. Have a good day Tegan.”

 

“Yeah you too Em.”

As I shut the door, I realize I have no idea what I’m going to do… how I’m going to be able to explain the certain unexplainable things that come along with who I am. I can’t tell this woman the truth; I’d end up in the looney bin or off to be locked away in some obscure government lab. No, I think it’s better to wait, to hold my breath and hope she isn’t observant. There isn’t any other way.

-

The change always starts with an itch. As soon as I feel it I know it’s too late, there is no stopping it once it’s begun. Today I am prepared, already in the woods naked. I stash my clothes under a dead tree and wait as the itch strengthens, growing and growing until it engulfs my entire body, as though I’m completely covered in tiny insects marching about on my skin. When this first started to happen I’d panic, the sensation terrifying me. Now, however, I’ve become used to it. This nothing compared to the pain ahead.

It comes without warning, as though a knife has slashed straight down my back, driving deeply into the bone beneath. I grit my teeth, falling to all fours as my vertebrae crack and reform to Her shape. I whimper, holding in a scream as my legs and arms break and change, hands and feet shrinking painfully as they curl into paws.

I finally give in and cry out as the fur starts to grow with a burning ferocity, the bones in my face shifting and growing to form a muzzle, my ears morphing and moving farther up on my head, a tail emerging to nestle between my legs in my fear. Eventually, my human yells turn to yips and howls as the change slows to a stop and the ache recedes from my shaking form. It is complete.

I am Her. She is me. We are one in this moment.

After taking a minute to shake off the residual pain, I allow Her to take the lead and we are off, disappearing deeper into the forest. The wind rushing through my fur is exhilarating, the trees nothing but blurs around me. This is where I belong, where She and I can be most free. 

 

Slowing to a stop beside an outcropping of rock, I lift my tail into the air, carefully taking the time to get my bearings. I am hungry, the need for the hunt and the kill lightening my bones. I breath in deeply; the forest smells of wet bark and dirt, of bear feces and trampled mushrooms, of swaying ferns and rushing rivers, of fellow wolves and the spilled blood of weaker creatures.

 

Something brown bolts from a hole at the bottom of a tree in the corner of my eye and I am off, instinct taking over as the adrenaline of the chase floods into my veins. This rabbit never stood a chance.

  
It jerks fitfully between my jaws, fighting futilely for its life. I shake it once, twice, tightening my hold further on the creature and it goes limp, the finality of the razors digging into it’s pitiful fur ending it’s struggle. Blood pooling deliciously beneath my tongue, I drop it to rest on the bed of pine needles below and stare at the motionless corpse of a moment before digging in, teeth ripping away the skin to get to the mouthwatering prize it encases. It is gone as quickly as it died, and, hunger satisfied, I move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter... please leave me your thoughts!

**Sara**

 

The last thing I want to do is share a home with a human, but what other choice do I have? I’ve seen the usage of money evolve over the centuries of my nearly eternal existence, the commodity becoming more and more integral to the basic survival of us all until it has become impossible not to constantly work to obtain more. While I do not need to eat, I require the other services money can facilitate in order to continue living comfortably in the way I have grown accustomed. Paying rent in New York City has strained my finances, despite the decent salary I earned as a professor at the City College. And now that I have decided to take a break from such jobs altogether, I’ll need to conserve what funds I can now more than ever.

The landlord I talked to on the phone two days ago had called to inform me that she had the perfect solution to what I needed; a small residence that backed right up to an expansive swathe of isolating forest. The current tenant, she’d continued, was a woman who had been unable to make her full rent due to extraneous circumstances, and therefore was in need of a roommate to contribute to said expenses. It didn’t take me long to realize that this was probably going to be the best offer I’d receive, immediately going ahead and making an appointment to meet this possible roommate and then, taking the liberty to assume that said meeting would go well, move my things into my new space shortly thereafter.

-

The first thing that hits me when this woman, Tegan I think the landlord said her name was, opens the front door of the home is the smothering scent of wet dog. It strikes my sensitive nostrils without warning, and it takes all of my effort not to flinch. After a moment, however, I relax, the intensity wearing away until it is nothing more than an underlying annoyance. That I can deal with… for now at least.

The woman in the doorway shifts nervously in my peripheral, and I glance up, quickly examining her lean form. She’s my height, maybe slightly taller, wearing a cut-off t-shirt and a pair of skinny sweats, the hair tucked behind her ears cut into a mullet, her feet bare and her arms completely covered with a colorful canvas of ink.

“Hey Em.” The woman says leaning her forearm against the frame before straightening nervously and extending a hand. “Oh and um… My name is Tegan.”

I stare at the hand held out to me in greeting awkwardly for a moment before gathering my bearings and connecting our palms. I can’t help but notice how warm hers is, and I can tell she finds the chill of mine equally strange.

“It’s a pleasure Tegan.” I drawl, withdrawing from her touch. “I am Sara.”

We stare at each other deeply, strangely. I notice her nostrils flare slightly, her head cocking to the side. The moment melts away as soon as it began, however, as the landlord pushes her way inside, forcing Tegan to backpedal and paving the way for me to follow. I do so.

 

“So Sara this is the kitchen and the main living space here, cable TV with HBO and a DVR. You’ll each have access to your own bathroom, there’s one connected to both bedrooms. Tegan, you cleaned up Sara’s room correct?”

Tegan nods, rubbing her neck as she opens a nearby door which empties to a room devoid of all furniture except for an empty mattress and a desk, lonely hangers dangling in the closet.

“Excellent. What do you think Sara?”

I take one more scan of the room before nodding, noting the wide windows looking out over the trees. “This will do.”

“Great! I’ll just need to get the rest of the paperwork together so you can sign the lease and make it official. Tegan, why don’t you help her with her things while I run over to my house and grab the files okay?” The landlord says with a smile. Of course she’s happy.

“Oh sure, no problem. I’ll help ya.” Tegan says with a dorky sort of wink. I shake my head at her in what I hope is perceived as in a good-natured way. If these humans weren’t around I’d have all of my things in sooner than it would take with six of them working in the most efficient manner they could possibly conjure. I’d better humor them though. The last thing I need is one to sense that I am different. That unfortunate instinct has drawn me from residences much finer than this one.

Tegan and I watch Emy drive away, standing in the front yard side-by-side, before trekking over to where my vehicle is parked. It is packed full with my belongings, the things I take with me everywhere I move; artifacts from the various times and places I have endured, harboring memories of my experiences and of my true nature.

Tegan pulls the first box from the back seat, her shoulder and back muscles rippling. She is strong for her size and gender, her physical prowess and dedication admirable, if nothing compared to my own. I also lift another precious cardboard box and together we return to the lifeless room that has become my own, setting them down gently and returning for more. It only takes us three trips total. Tegan is efficient in her movements, another thing I find rare in most humans I come into contact with.

“Phew.” Tegan sighs, wiping the back of her forehead with her arm. “What’s in those boxes, you’re rock collection?”

I snort disdainfully at the suggestion. “Hardly. While it is a collection, it is not exclusively formulated of rock.”

“Huh alright cool. Well… I don’t know about you but I’m crazy thirsty after all that heavy lifting. You want some water or juice or something?” Tegan asks, pointing behind her with a thumb towards the kitchen area.

“No I am fine thank you.” I reply. “I think I will begin to unpack now instead if that’s alright with you. There’s nothing I hate more than living in a space without my things to keep me company.”

“Oh ok. Yeah. No problem. I’ll just leave you to that I guess.” Tegan stutters awkwardly, leaving the way she came. I can hear her fumbling about with a glass in the kitchen, filling it up with the faucet in an attempt at quenching her thirst before going for another glass-full. I sigh. This is going to be interesting, that is for sure.

As long as I can stick around just long enough to finish this next chapter of these histories I am writing, without killing the foul smelling human of course, all will be well and I can move on; of course, Time forces me forward with her endless plodding anyways. My lack of noticeable aging always causes problems before too long.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave me some feedback if you can! Hope you guys enjoy, next chapter will explain more on Sara's end.

**Tegan**

 

“I don’t know man, she’s pretty weird. Like, I haven’t been in her room since I helped her carry her shit inside last week but I caught a glance this morning and I swear I saw a human skull on her desk.” I say, stopping mopping momentarily to wave my arms for effect. “No joke.”

“Whoa really?” My friend and coworker Jeremy asks. “Was it human?”

“I don’t know man but I’m telling you, I’m watching my back from now on. I don’t wanna end up on her desk too.”

Jeremy snorts, dipping her own mop back into the bucket of soapy water we’re sharing. “Good luck dude. That’s all I gotta say.”

“Thanks. I’ve got a strange feeling I’m going to need it.”

-

Since Sara moved in, the house has smelled weird. I know that sounds kind of strange, but one of the side effects of my, shall we say, other nature, is that all of my senses are heightened. It’s not a bad smell, per se, but she definitely doesn’t smell like any of the other humans I come into contact with on a daily basis. That, coupled with the weird shit in her room and her coldness towards any sort of interaction between us makes me wary. I don’t know her well enough to let my guard down yet.

-

When I get home from work that morning Sara is already awake, quietly reading a book in the living room armchair, one leg folded neatly over the other.

“Hello Tegan.” She says, not looking up from the passage her eyes are scanning.

“Um hey.” I reply awkwardly, stopping in the hallway and unzipping my work jumpsuit halfway before tying the arms around my waist.

“Do you only wear shirts that are devoid of sleeves?”

I look up, startled by the question, before laughing nervously, taking a quick glance down at my attire. This is the most she’s spoken to me since we’ve met. “Uh no. I just… I mean I always wear one underneath my work clothes so I can tie them down like now to cool off. They turn the AC up after hours in an effort to save money; sure doesn’t make things more pleasant for us lowly janitors though.”

“You are a janitor?” She seems surprised.

I glance down at my dirty scuffed work boots, slightly embarrassed by her baffled tone. “Um, yeah.”

“I never would’ve guessed.” She says, finally closing her book and placing it smoothly into her lap before meeting my gaze, the fringe of her hair obscuring one eye.

“Yeah well… it pays. I gotta put food on the table somehow.”

“Indeed.”

We stare at each other for a minute more. I feel Her rumble restlessly in my chest as a particularly strong, sweet, almost intoxicating whiff of Sara’s scent drifts towards me, sharply turning into the kitchen to avoid it, but She refuses to rest. Why would that wake Her? The next moon isn’t for another couple of weeks, I shouldn’t be able to sense Her so strongly yet. Something isn’t right here… I-I don’t feel right.

 

“Tegan?” Sara calls from the other room, sounding concerned. “Are you alright?”

My lips pull back into a snarl at her voice, my teeth gritted. “I’m fine.”

She is angry now, howling and fighting for escape. I bend over, forcing her to stay within. I can’t change now, I’d kill the stupid human in the other room. Just when I think I can’t hold her back anymore, huffing and wheezing desperately for air, she quiets, and I slump exhausted and relieved.

“Fucking hell.” I mumble underneath my breath, straightening my stiffening spine laboriously and glancing upwards. My eyes meet Sara’s concerned ones, her arms crossed over her chest, and I immediately begin to panic. Fuck.

 

“I don’t think you are as ok as you wish for me to believe.” She says, raising one eyebrow.

 

“I think I ate something weird, that’s all.” I mumble, stomach lurching uncomfortably as I inch past her and make a beeline for my room; I can feel her stare burning holes in my back as I make my retreat. Sighing in relief against the door, I groan as She shifts frustratedly inside once more, curling into a ball on my bed.

I have no one to turn to for help, for advice, for understanding. I am the only Wolf I know of; well, besides the one who turned me. Is this normal? Is the change coming early? Does it have something to do with the strange woman I’ve foolishly allowed into my home?

“Tegan?”

Speak of the devil. Why won’t she just leave me alone?

“Yeah?” I call hoarsely.

“Ok. Just making sure you’re alright, your heart is beating quite fast. Do you have a fever?” Sara says, her voice muffled through the wood of the door. How does she know what is going on with me? Why does she even care?

“Um I don’t know. I naturally run warmer than most.” That is the understatement of the century, but she definitely doesn’t need to know that.

“Take care of yourself Tegan.”

“Um right. Sure thing.”

I hear her take a deep breath in, pause, and then walk away.

 

Seriously… what is her problem? Stupid human pissing my Wolf off because damn it she has to be so alluring and smelly and then be all randomly extra nice to me. Like, I don’t need a babysitter, especially some insane weirdo of one that keeps fucking skulls on her desk like that’s a normal thing to do.

My thoughts stop short and I groan, clutch my stomach as it cramps up again painfully. She hums at my distress in weak apology, Her attempt to comfort me soothing regardless of its sincerity. The pain begins to melt away as I relax and slip into a troubled sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support so far guys... starting to dig in more on the condition's of Sara's abilities and what comes along with them.

**Sara**

 

Something is wrong with the human, I can tell. Elevated heartrate and above average temperature are signs of sickness within them, and this one has extraordinarily high levels of both. The last thing I need is for it to die on me; I like it here…. even if it smells strange most of the time. I guess the human herself doesn’t seem so bad either. So far, at least.

I zero my hearing in on the other room at this thought, listening carefully for sounds of distress. Her heart rate has gone back down at least, I muse, the sounds of muffled snores filling my ears instead. That is good. From what I have observed, rest is often the key to recovery.

My fangs slide down, digging bloodlessly into my lip; the urge has returned with a vengeance, drawing me away from my thoughts and tugging at my brain incessantly. I haven’t fed since I moved here a week ago. I need to do so very soon; the last thing I need is to wait too long and lose control, draining the life out of Tegan across the hall.

-

Feeding is a strange experience for both I and the donor. For them, the sensation can cause emotion ranging widely from severe discomfort to pure ecstasy and everything possible in between. I have developed a technique, having discovered over time that for the vast majority of humans, my bite brings them nothing but pleasure. Therefore, in order to mask the cause of what they’re feeling, I normally bite only during sex. It’s a tried and true method, the only catch being that I must first seduce a mate. That part isn’t so hard either, really.

The thing that makes feeding strange for me, which may sound weird at first considering that I am the one puncturing and taking from another, is that as I am drinking my fill, I am subject to random blurbs of memories nestled within my prey. Most are fleeting, flickers of who they are, echos of the lives they have lived. They always melt away as soon as I retract my fangs from their soft skin, however, and, rejuvenated and vibrating with the energy I have stolen, I am usually able to quickly force myself to forget and move on.

 

-

 

The human is still sleeping when I leave around three in the afternoon to scout for clubs and places to pick-up my meal for the night; I pause at her door one more time to ensure she still seems to be okay. Satisfied at the steady breathing I can catch through the wood, I grab my coat and slip out the front door, stalking silently to my vehicle. The urge strikes back stronger than before as I settle into the driver’s seat, and I suppress the want to groan as my fangs dig even deeper into my own skin in their desperate search for what they ache for. Though I am technically dead, no blood flowing through my veins or heart beating within my chest, I can still feel pain, and believe me, my fangs are sharp as fuck.

 

I can’t wait until tonight, I finally surrender, fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the plastic casing begins to crack. I manage to let go, taking a deep breath and pulling out of the drive and onto the main road I’ve learned leads into a medium-sized town nearby. There’s got to be a bar open already down there.

 

It doesn’t take me long to find a rundown little place, a couple of motorcycles and pickup trucks crouching in the dusty parking lot. I pull in, taking a deep calming breath in an attempt to will my fangs to slide back up into my gums. They do so after a moment and I smoothly get out of my vehicle, locking it and entering the venue.

 

It’s dimly lit, a hockey game playing on a flickering TV over a splintery wooden bar and rickety barstools. I take a quick glance around the room, searching for a suitable donor. After grazing over several hairy bikers and the older woman behind the bar, my eye catches a young couple chatting easily over drinks in one of the booths lining the wall, my human age, maybe a little younger… perfect. Ideal, even.

 

Turning on my charm, accentuated with the undertones of my vampiric abilities, it doesn’t take me long to convince them that we should head back to their shared apartment immediately for well… you know.

 

Soon enough we’re through the door and things get heated. I let them get going, shedding off my clothes and watching. The boy’s blood is probably sweet, but the woman’s sings much louder in my ears. Fangs slip out of their hiding place, I move in, animalistic and driven by the thirst. The boy is only to glad to watch me ravage his girlfriend, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as I get my first sip of the crimson coursing beneath her skin.

 

She screams, back arching in ecstasy, and then “ _but mom_ _I love him!” I sob, face pressed dramatically into my pillow. “You can’t keep us apart like this! You can’t!”_

_“Jason…” I breathe, reaching up to cup his stubbly cheek._

_My scream is cut off my the sound of a car horn blaring and the sound of breaking glass as I slip into sudden darkness._

_“That isn’t dress code young lady. Go to the front office and call your mother.”_

I gasp, pulling back as my fangs drip onto the sheets, muscles in my stomach contracting as I cum strongly with a long strangled moan, adrenaline coursing through my veins. The boy reaches for me and then I am at his neck too, the taste different but no less satisfying.

 

-

  
When I return home late in the afternoon, Tegan has already left; I don’t sense her presence anywhere within the dwelling anymore. She must have gone off to work, to her labourer’s toils. Such a bleak life of a human, to wake and to work and work until they retire and waste away and die. It is in moments like these that I cherish my immortal gift that much more. I exist in the constant, both the future and the past, all at one time. Can that human Tegan say the same?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've been crazy busy. Please let me know what you think either here or on Tumblr where I can be found under the same name. Thanks :)

 

**Tegan**

 

Heading back into the house after work this morning, I’ll admit, I’m nervous as hell. I don’t know what is going on with me, why Sara’s scent sparked Her to lose it and nearly take me right there in the kitchen yesterday. I thought I had a decent handle on my… condition, but it is obvious to me that there is still so much I don’t know. That Wolf that nearly killed me in the woods? My dad shot him so many times that there was more holes than flesh by the time he was done. There was no way for me to get answers or understanding at all from the unmarked grave behind my father’s cabin at the edge of the woodline. Everything I know is from experience. The unknown is something that She and I cannot conquer, no matter how hard we try or how strong we are together.

 

-

 

I choke through my attempt at trying not to breath too deeply when I walk through the door, tiredly pulling off my wet boots and jacket and carrying them through the house. No sign of Sara. I become slightly more confident, lifting my head and sniffing with more intent. The stale whiff I get mixed with the stormy weather outside immediately makes Her stir within me, but not with the anger of before. _Where is she?_ I can feel Her questioning. _Where is she?_

 

I grunt and shake my head, forcing her back down. Who fucking cares where she is? Not my damn problem that’s for sure. My Wolf moans a little from deep inside, Her sudden sadness seeping into my bones and putting me into a sour mood. Fucking hell, why does She have to be such a moody brat right now?

 

Annoyed, I eat a bowl of cereal and down a glass of orange juice frustratedly before showering and heading off to bed. I’m too tired to put much thought into this right now.

 

-

 

When I wake up, I immediately know Sara is back again. Her scent flows through the vents in the ceiling and beneath my door to find my twitching nostrils, just as intoxicating and strange as before. My Wolf awakens with me, humming deeply in my chest as I force myself up to relieve my aching bladder and then into the kitchen for a cup of afternoon coffee to wake up. Walking into the kitchen, I manage to knock her almost completely over as we both turn the corner heading in opposite directions.

 

We both gasp in shock, taking involuntary breaths. Sara’s scent is slightly different yet again, she must have just gotten in from the still stormy weather outside; a metallic scent mixed with the breeze of soaked brush. Those things don’t sound like they go together, but the second smells like home, or what was once home, and I can't help but feel strangely reassured by the familiarity of it.

 

Sara steps to the other side of the room in several long strides, coffee machine spluttering in protest over the water and beans she must have already put inside. Her face twists strangely, as though in disgust. It is obvious that the awkward and unfounded relationship of scents is not a mutual mutual experience. I take a nervous step back as her face morphs back into the weird emotionless mask I’ve grown so accustomed to seeing on her otherwise angular expressive features.

 

“T-Tegan how are you feeling?” She asks, turning her back to me as she puts a mug beneath the coffee machine.

 

Wait what? Ohhh… yesterday. “I feel better, thanks for asking.” I reply. “Food poisoning I think. Don’t trust the Thai place in town ha. I learned my lesson, that’s for sure.”

 

She turns and takes a sip of her drink, eyes peering over the top at me as she rises an eyebrow. “Thanks for the advice.” She tells me, striding by, my Wolf sighing strangely as her scent drifts by and away into the other room. Well that was awkward, I snort, pouring my own mug of coffee. I can tell my Wolf doesn’t approve, however, my stomach starting to sour slightly as she makes her displeasure known.

 

I don’t get what Her deal is honestly… I mean, why the sudden obsession? And with a human of all things! She’s never spared more than a disdainful glance at them since we became one, and I’ve felt no more interest than Her in such trivial matters since our joining myself. And why should I? Humans are weak pitiful creatures, boastful members lying lazily atop the pyramidal food chain that reigns over all life. And yet, they are the most easily hunted, the most naive and self-assured. Why should I invest my time with something we can kill with one snap of Her jaws?

 

She growls at the sudden image I have conjured within my skull, the shocking image of Sara’s lifeless body broken beneath Her paws, blood pooling into sluggish rivers that slowly coat the grout between the tiles in the kitchen with its molten ooze. I fight back this time, managing to force her to back off slightly so I can regain my bearings. The coffee in my grip shakes as my hold tightens painfully. I could break this mug with hardly a thought, such an act nothing more than a sudden flexing of my fingers. It can’t be much harder to destroy a ridiculous over-hyped human, even without Her skin gracing my bones.

 

-

 

When I manage to fall asleep after work the next morning, no sign of Sara again, my dreams are fogged and confusing. We are hunting together with Her taking the lead, our paws kicking up loose bits of moss from the forest floor. Thr hunt is halted shortly after it began, however, as a thick fog seeps between the trees impedes heavily upon our vision, dampness plastering Her fur to our skin. We slow to a stop, panting as we catch our breath, and glance around. Grey fills our vision, and then without warning Sara is there. She sees us, eyes widening. We tense, instincts on high alert as we assess this new possible threat.

 

I expect her to run. If she was smart she would, but she doesn’t. Instead she takes a step forward towards us, and another, and another, until we are standing face to snout, our head leaning down to meet her gaze, our broad shoulders level with her intrigued face, head cocked to the side slightly. Our eyes meet as she stand before me and reaches a pallid hand forward, unnaturally cold fingers caressing my ear. It twitches at the touch, and I can feel She and I hum together at the hesitant want the gesture Sara offers holds within.

  
  
I wake in a cold sweat to damp sheets and a restless mind, Sara’s strange scent fresh in my nostrils despite the stale air surrounding me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It's been far too long. I won't list all of my excuses, I'll just say that I'm exceptionally busy while at a turning point in my life. Found some time tonight though and this chapter resulted. Hope you guys are still interested and enjoy. Reviews are always appreciated and responded to!

**Sara**

 

 

I do not sleep, and yet I have dreamt. That seems contradictory, I know, but my world is one exclusively of truths. I have lived for hundreds of years, and it has been centuries since I have learned something new about myself. But this, alarmingly, is something I have never experienced before since I was forced to leave my humanity behind. Did I pass out? Or was I merely staring blankly at the wall my slightly blurred vision blinked back upon. And then there was the content of this strange vision itself. I can remember every minute of it.

 

I had been walking through the woods, the trees mossy and green with fresh rain, much like the ones behind my new residence. I’d stopped for a moment to examine several previously uncatalogued growths protruding from the rotting bough of a fallen tree when a massive chocolate brown wolf seemed to appear out of nowhere, it’s eyes glinting, it’s bushy tail raised high in alarm, it’s wet nose twitching inquisitively. 

 

My initial instinct was to run, and yet my feet had remained planted firmly to the pliant floor of soggy dirt and fallen leaves below me. I’d taken a step forward, calmly reaching into myself for the strength to continue to approach this strangely familiar creature. It had cocked it’s head to the side in an admission of a wary curiousity as I closed the distance, lowering it’s head level to mine as we finally met face to face.

 

It’d snorted softly as I’d reach forward and caressed an ear with tentative fingers, the cartilage twitching in surprise before relaxing beneath my touch. It felt as though something hollow within me had become filled in the brief moment we remain connected. Then, the wolf and the forest was gone, melting as my eyes blink open to find the dirt streaked alley of the bar I’d been scouting for possible future meals. It smells strangely of wet dog, a scent that doesn’t seem as abhorable and gag worthy as it was might have, and I turn to leave.

 

I feel strange after this encounter with my mind, returning back home in hopes of searching through my stash of books and artifacts for answers. As I walk inside the front door, however, I find I have another, more annoying issue to attend to… the human.

 

When I step inside, my sensitive nostrils immediately pick up the scent of booze, it’s acrid burn causing me to hold my breath to avoid it’s painful sting. I step in fully and close the door behind me, taking a cautious peek around the doorway to the kitchen from within the hall; nothing. I continue and the smell gets stronger until I nearly fall over Tegan from where she’s sprawled drunkenly on the floor, humming to herself.

 

The amount of empty alcohol containers containers both concerns and confounds me. From my experience, the human should have died from alcohol poisoning about eight bottles of the various types of hard liquor scattered around her by now, and yet she is very much alive, her vitals slowed by the effects of the depressant but not within any danger zones. Her eyes flicker open hazily and she blinks at me, a strange grin pulling at the corners of her lips.

 

“Oh heyyy it’s the ice queenie. Come to pet me again sweetheart? I think she really liked it last time you know?”

 

Ice queenie? Oh that is laughable, I snort, shaking my head, and step over her nonchalantly. Drunken words of a sad young fool with a dreary job and a dreary life. Its no wonder she drinks like this.

 

The bottles around her clink, followed by a thump, just as I cross the threshold of my room. I sigh, leaning a forearm against the door frame. First the freaky random vision, now babysitting a silly human. And to think I wished for a quiet life out here amongst nature to concentrate, or even merely a quiet evening to study and read up as much as I can about my strange symptom.

 

Oh well.

 

I turn and lift her smoothly, her face squished against my chest, unconscious once more. The stink of wet animal envelopes me entirely as I enter her room and set her down on her sheets, but once again I am unbothered. Add that to the list of fucking weird tonight. 

 

I turn back before I close her door to ensure her heart and lungs are doing their jobs unimpeded by the alcohol. Satisfied they are, I close the door and dispose of the glass remains of her binge. Then, finally, I retire to my study and begin my research.

 

-

 

The book I select to begin is one written by a fellow vampire, a scholar of the supernatural and even older than I, entitled  _ Clandestine Species.  _ Although I have read it several times, I flip once again first to the section detailing the traits and intricacies of the vampire race.

 

**The Vampire is one of the most ancient and well known species within folklore and myth, and yet few know truly who we are, even amongst those of us ourselves. The vampire is a reclusive creature, feeding on the blood of humans to satisfy a carnal thirst to regain what is no longer ours, our humanity itself. We are born only through a bite delivered directly to the neck in which we willingly release a venom that passes the mutation which causes our condition into the new host. The symptoms of this transformation include intense fever, agony, and delirium. The average transformation, with few exceptions, occurs in its entirety within the course of several hours. Once complete, a fledgling vampire must feed within twenty-four hours of the time of the initial bite, or risk eternal death.**

**While Vampires have the ability to conduct intimate monogamous relations with other species of the supernatural without motivation to feed sparking the encounter, this rarely happens unless the other species forms an inane attachment to them through species specific bonding rituals or urges.**

 

I stop reading for a moment and sit back. Could I have come into contact with a shapeshifter and they and I bonded unknowingly? I flip forward several pages urgently until I find the section I’m looking for.

 

**The shapeshifter is the most romanticized supernatural species, rivaled only by that of the vampire. Very little is known about these elusive creatures because of their rarity after Elvin Hunters nearly exterminated their kind nearly three-hundred years ago in a misguided effort to avenge the death of their queen at the claws of a rogue WereCougar. They are created either through ancestral birth, or through the passing of genes in the sharing of blood, and remain the age they were when turned, or, in the case of ancestral lineage, stop aging at 24 years of age. While the most well known WerePeople are those with the blood of the Wolf, shifters can come in a variety of creatures, though the ones who survive to pass on their genes are mainly those of carnivorous advantages. Shifters mate only with those their inner creature bonds with without the consent of the human form. When this happens, the WerePerson and the subject of the bond are tied for life, and, if the bond is accepted by its subject, the mates gain the ability to both sense the other’s presence and emotions as well as speak to the mind of the other over long distances. This is an advantage that no other bonding species is able to make use of.**

 

I stop reading, my mind racing. Have I unknowingly been bonded by a WereWolf? It would certainly explain the dream and the strange calmness I felt when touching the Wolf within it. But who is the human side of the creature? One of the two I met and fucked at the bar? The homeless man I walked by in town earlier? It is impossible to know, and I’m not even sure I want to. Bonding means being responsible for another person, for settling down and becoming monogamous and not feeding intimately with humans. If I do find this WereWolf, do I really want to accept their bond and lose my freedom forever when the tie between us takes hold?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to enjoy writing again and wanted to continue this. Hope you guys like it :)

**Tegan**

 

 

I open my eyes and immediately shut them again. Too bright. Way too fucking bright. I throw my arm over my eyes, groaning. What the fuck did I do last night? And then it all comes rushing back… the dream, the liquor, the urges I'd felt upon waking the day before.

 

My wolf jolts unsettlingly within me and curl up into a ball. Fuck.

 

I feel this inane want, this primal urge, Her moaning inside of me. I feel pain from a place I cannot describe. Sara's scent filters into the room, I can hear her pacing back and forth in the living room right outside, nothing but the thin wood of the door and some air filling the space between us.

 

My Wolf cries out within me as that sweet songful scent that could only be Sara seeps into my lungs, and I want nothing more than to reach her and cover her in my own musk, to claim her as my own, to let her claim _me_ as her own.

 

I hold my breath as a shiver runs down my spine, I shove her down angrily. No! What is happening?

 

"Tegan?" Sara knocks, her voice tinted with a hint of concern, muffled.

 

She tries to claw to the surface, angry, wanting, lovestruck? I groan in pain as I try to halt the change, my bones snapping into Her shape before snapping back. This shouldn't be happening, I still have a week before the next moon. My clothes tear loudly.

 

"Tegan you sound distressed!" Sara calls through the door, sounding more worried now.

 

Go away stupid human! I'll fucking kill you! I think, even as my Wolf snarls and rebukes me for such thoughts. You don't want that, my Wolf says, and I hate to agree. Finally, after a few more futile moments, I give in, exhausted and in agony, my muscles spasming as my skin burns and cartilage and bone morphs and snaps freely.

 

We are drained, tired of fighting, jumping down from our bed to the floor on wavering limbs before folding in defeat with a whimper. A very animal sounding whimper.

 

Suddenly our bedroom door splinters open and Sara strides into the room, her eyes burning. Eyes meet, staring uneasily, even as we struggle to get up and escape or defend myself on my end, or run up and rub our fur on her on my Wolf's.

 

"No." Sara mumbles. "This can't be."

 

My Wolf woofs quietly but happily at Sara's presence, but I force Her backward, tail tucked deeply between our back legs. I've worked so hard to hide myself, and now all bets are off. I need to get away but I'm too weak to escape, to fight.

 

"Y-You are the one I dreamt of." Sara whispers, eyes wide, falling to her knees before me.

 

I feel confused and scare, reacting instinctively with a low rumbling in our chest. My Wolf tries to overpower me, but the adrenaline running through our systems gives me just enough to gain the upperhand. Sara's scent fills the room and We both sigh, the growl we'd been emitting in fright slowing to a stuttering silence.

 

Sara has a dazed look on her face, something unreadable flitting across her features. "You aren't human."

 

We whimper, looking up at her eyes, and notice something off about her ourselves; her canines lengthening to pierce into her lower lip. She notices and seems to struggle with herself for a moment before giving up herself. It seems we both had something to hide.

 

I want to change back, but I am too tired. We lay back down instead, hoping she does not kill us, wanting her with an aching possessiveness. Does she feel this strange connection too?

 

I lift my head to watch as Sara slowly gets to her feet and pads over to us; my Wolf woofing softly again in pleasure at the closing distance.

 

"Tegan." Sara says, stopping in front of us. Our eyes meet again. "I'm not going to hurt you and I know She won't let you hurt me."

 

All I can think is how do you know this for a brief second because then she's kneeling down, her hand hesitantly reaching for us just as in the dream, and we can't help but sigh as her cool hand sinks deep into our fur, one of our ears twitching at the nearby sensation. Her teeth seem to lengthen even further, digging deep into her pale lower lip, but she doesn't seem to notice. We are stuck, entranced with one another; or at least on our end.

 

She sits in front of us, studying, her hand still brushing up and down in our long shaggy fur. I let out a grumbly sigh and inch closer, unabashedly sticking my large head in her lap. We have gone from barely speaking to revealing ourselves in the intimacy of this strange new bond that seems to have hesitantly began to weave it's tendrils between and around us.

 

I feel none of the guarded defensiveness I've always felt around others, unable to even fathom why I might be alarmed at her presence when simply a day ago I thought she was strange and annoying with her peculiarities and her invasion of my once sanctuary of a home.

"You make this decision difficult." Sara murmurs as I begin so slip off into a slow calming state of semi-awakeness, floating between conscious and unconscious. Her voice is soft and lilting, her voice smooth and suddenly comforting. A deep hum grows in our chest in our new state of contentment. "Our bond works both ways. Even before I have accepted or denied it, I feel a need for you, though not as strong as your need for me must be I am sure. Why should I allow you to strip me of the freedom I have always treasured since becoming reborn? Why should I force myself to walk away from such new found devotion and strength? I was told few if any of your kind still existed, and yet you and I found each other; do I believe in a fate? Do I wish to commit to such a strange new partnership after centuries of being entirely and utterly alone?"

 

I wish I could tell her that We need her, that I hated her but my Wolf never did. That my Wolf wishes I'd trust her more, and that I wish the opposite of Her. I want to tell her I have no idea what is happening, what she is talking about. It is too late for words now, however, I am too far down into the realm of unconsciousness, her voice like a lullaby lulling us both to rest.

 

I slip into darkness and sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this Tegan and Sara so much. Hope I did them justice during this pivotal chapter!

 

**Sara**

 

The Wolf sleeps, allowing me to slip away undetected. As I settle it's giant head from my lap and onto it's paws, the feeling of something missing already begins to seep into my bones. It feels as though I am tugging against a thick rope, its twineing fibers scratching my skin as I hesitantly leave the creature, Tegan, alone.

 

The bond is already strong between us; it makes it that much harder to think with the clear unbiasedness I need. There is no reason for me to accept this… this… whatever it is. What Tegan is and what I am are not necessarily compatible creatures. We are both predators, yes, but that is where the similarities end.

 

She still has a piece of her humanity remaining, it's threads intertwining with that of her Wolf. I, on the other hand, am dead. And while there is nothing more human than death, there is also nothing more inhuman than rising and continuing beyond that point. I am as cold as a corpse, my heart does not beat, I drink the blood of what I once was.

 

My fangs slice into my lower lip in want as my thoughts shift to consider feeding on only one creature for the rest of her and I's existence. Oh and suddenly I want a taste so badly. But she still doesn't know what I am, a leech who survives by manipulating others. Who's to say she'd even want me after she finds out the truth?

 

I pace and I pace and I pace. For hours it seems, though time is a strange creature; it is impossible to know for certain.

 

A commotion within Tegan's room startles me from my thoughts and I tense. I can hear her bones breaking and cartilage cracking; the Wolf has left her for now. My skin feels clammy as I wait to see what will happen next; will she come out and act like what just happened never occured? Will she try to hurt me or kick me out now that she knows I'm not who she thinks I am? Will she-

 

The door opens and she is there, dressed in those same sweats I met her in and a baggy shirt. She stops short when she sees me right outside the door and we stare at each other awkwardly for a moment before she shifts her gaze downward in uncertainty. Her scent fills my nostrils with it's suddenly intoxicating allure, and it takes all of my focus to prevent my fangs from sliding out of my gums in want.

 

"We need to talk." She says, gesturing towards the couch. I move to sit stiffly on one side, back straight and hands folded in my lap. She sits on the other end, slouched forward with her elbows on her knees.

 

"What just happened?" She asks, voice soft and laden with confusion. "What are you?"

 

I am shocked for a moment at her ignorance of her own kind, but quickly regain my composure. "I am what you would call a vampire. And… your wolf has chosen me as her mate."

 

"Wait wait wait." She stumbles over her words. "You're a vampire?"

 

I lose my battle with my fangs for a moment and they flash white between us before returning within their sheaths. "Yes."

 

"Holy shit! And we…. She chose you? What does that mean?

 

I am seldom lost for words, but right now I don't know what to say. "You are not of the blood?"

 

"What does that mean?" She sounds so lost. I want to hold her tightly, to wrap my body around hers and soak up her warmth, to bite and to claim forever. God what has this done to me?

 

"You were not born a pup? Your family is not also of Wolf-Blood?" I manage to reply after taking a second to regain my composure.

 

"I-no. I was attacked when I was ten. My dad killed him after it happened. I don't remember much of it, just the pain. And then I woke up in my bed, my dad didn't trust hospitals, and I had a raging fever. I was delirious for a day or two from what he told me, and then the full moon came and She came out for the first time and healed me up. I've been like this since."

 

"I see." I say. "So you know nothing of bonding and the taking of mates among your people?"

 

"I don't… is that what's going on here?"

 

"When a Were-Person's other half, in your case your wolf, finds their destined, it initiates a bond. What I assume has been causing you to act so strangely these past couple days has been the onset of this, and today was the catalyst. It is up to you and I whether we accept what your Wolf wishes or we go our separate ways."

 

Tegan's eyes widen in shock, her foot tapping nervously against the floor. "Does that mean, like, that we'd be together?"

 

"While there can be platonic bonds, they are extraordinarily rare. And from what I have felt of it so far, this definitely is of the romantic kind, so yes."

 

"You feel this pull too?"

 

"I do."

 

My bones ache for her, my dead heart yearns for her own, my fangs tingle at the mere thoughts of a taste of her. This is no longer something I think I can fight, even if I wanted too.

 

Tegan groans, eyes closing as she seems to fight with herself for a moment. It eases and she meets my gaze. "Fuck I want you and I can sense you want me too. But I want to take this slow. I want to know your mind before we consummate this… however we're supposed to do that."

 

"I think your instinct tells you exactly what we're supposed to do, as does mine. But I agree. We must tread carefully instead of plunging unknowingly into such a commitment."

 

She nods, satisfied, and my fangs slide out again. This time I don't make the effort to retract them, however. If we are to do this, she needs to know fully what I am, what I am capable of.

 

"So you like, suck blood then?" I can sense the hesitation in her voice, afraid of offending me maybe.

 

"I do."

 

But you drink coffee like crazy, that doesn't have blood in it does it? Oh shit do you put like, blood in it instead of coffee creamer? That's actually kind of badass…"

And suddenly she's back to the person I know; the awkward one that talks faster than her head sometimes. The surge of affection I feel at these thoughts warms my chest in that super happy way that makes it feel as though it is swelling with love. I cannot stop the large smile, fangs and all, from spreading across my face.

 

"I can ingest regular food and drink but it does nothing for me, just like junk food offers you no nutricion. When I was human, coffee was a delicacy to be enjoyed on special occasions only, and I loved to drink it more than anything. The taste of pure black coffee is almost as good as blood in my opinion."

 

She seems to think on this for a moment. "So you were human once?"

 

"I was turned at twenty-five." I say, memories I haven't considered in a long time suddenly flash through my brain. "I'd taken a younger woman as a lover. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. But we had to keep it a secret, you see. Our love wasn't accepted the way it is today, and since I was a member of the Noble class, if we were to be found out I would've disgraced my whole family. I fought my Mother and Father every time they tried to arrange a marriage for me, and when I turned twenty-five, they decided they'd had enough and went behind my back with a man twice my age who worked as a scholar in King Louis the 14th's court."

 

"Shit you're old then!" Tegan blurts, immediately turning bright red afterward. "Sorry that was rude."

 

I can't help the laugh that escapes. "You are right though, I was born in 1618 in Paris, France."

 

"So you've seen some shit."

 

That is the understatement of the century. "I've lived through your history book yes. The world is a fascinating, but endlessly dark place."

 

"So how did you end up a vampire?"

 

"Remember I told you I was with a woman? Well when she found out I was to be married, she told me she couldn't bear I be with anyone else. We decided to lay together one more night before I was to go to the church the following day and that was when she bit me."

 

"This shit reads like a novel!" Tegan says, obviously fascinated. "How come you don't glow in the sun like in twilight? Does the sun hurt you?"

 

"That is a myth." I snort. "I can go out in the sun just like anyone else. Either way, I think that's enough for now. Would you care for some lunch?"

 

"Only if you're cooking. I'd craving crepes Ms. French lady." Tegan winks at me mischievously, and I am smitten.

  



	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Favorite chapter by far. Really appreciate the support you all have given this so thank you. The Tegan and Sara in this timeline mean a lot to me.

It's late and I am tired, having stayed up much later than I should have with Sara considering the fact that I had to work the following evening... now. We'd talked for hours, though it felt like minutes; she has seen so much over the centuries. I was blinded by her eccentricity and my own insecurity about my other Half to realize how interesting and genuine she is. And attractive. Very, very attractive. Although how much of that is my Wolf and how much of it is my human side is hard to say.

 

Leaning my mop against the wall with a sigh, I rub my eyes before closing them for a brief moment of sweet darkness; she fills my thoughts with her smooth voice and elegant features and formal style of dress and speech and I wish I could drop everything and just go home and be with her again. Being this far gone this fast can't be healthy… but then again, turning into a giant wolf or drinking blood isn't exactly what you'd find on a poster at the doctor's office or while perusing the self-help section either.

 

"So the freak leavin you alone? Or…" Jeremy. I would've laughed days ago at his awkward attempt to ask me what's wrong. But now? After everything that has happened in such a short amount of time?

 

I am in his face in an instant, wide awake, anger flaring suddenly and brightly in my chest. "Don't fucking call her that."

 

He backs away, eyes widening in shock, hands up in appeasement. "Shit dude chill. You called her that just the other day I figured it was fair game. What, is it one of those weird things where like, you can say that stuff but I can't? C'mon Tee that's no fun."

 

Taking a step back I force the tension rippling across my shoulders to ease and it slips away along with the sudden emotion that came with it. "No, no I'm… I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. It's just been a rough week for me alright? I shouldn't've taken it out on you."

 

He shrugs, dipping his own mop back our shared bucket and wringing it out before returning it to the floor with a slap. "I get it Teegs it's cool."

 

"Shit Jer I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just… I don't know. I finally got the chance to sort of get to know her the other day and honestly, she isn't nearly as bad as I've made her out to be. We share some things in common and stuff, you know?" I feel terrible at the masked half-truths I am forced to spill for him, but if he really knew? He'd probably run as far away as he could.

 

"Yeah I get it, we're cool don't worry. If you like her then as far as I'm concerned she's good people." He says, small smile spreading across his face, ignorance in his gaze.

 

I reach out and give his muscled shoulder a quick squeeze, trying to make the grimace appearing at my thoughts turn into something more cheerful, with limited success. "That means a lot man. Thank you."

 

-

 

I arrive home to the sound of Sara humming away in the kitchen, dish towel thrown over her shoulder, a few extra buttons undone around her collar bone, her sweet scent intermingling with whatever she's got sizzling away in the pan before her. 

 

"Tegan." She says, not turning around. "I hope you enjoy fish. I took the liberty of starting your dinner already."

 

Yeah… I could get used to this.

 

"Fish sounds great!" I say, checking the clock. 5 am. And I have tonight off. Score.

 

"Go shower while I finish this up, you smell like the stray dogs that used to rummage through our trash at night back in Paris when I was growing up." She says, glancing over her shoulder at me with a sly grin. I offer a silly two-fingered salute and dash off to the bathroom, stripping as I go. It doesn't take me long to clean myself and get into more comfortable clothes with her waiting on the other side of the walls.

 

When I come back out into the living room I find she has already set my plate at my seat, glass of cool water sweating beside it. She comes out of the kitchen looking a little flustered, pale skin nearly translucent in the early morning light. 

 

"I hope you find this agreeable, I haven't cooked food in nearly 300 years."

 

"Ah Sara I'm sure it is way better than anything I could manage myself. What did you make exactly? I ask, sitting down. She pulls out the chair across from me and settles lightly, her hands folded on the table in front of her.

 

"It is Salmon made  a la Meuniere, or as you would say,  in the style of the miller's wife. It is just fish that is floured, then sautéed in butter. My family's chef, M.  Arsenau, would make it every year to celebrate poisson d'Avril. It was the equivalent to your April Fools Day, but those who were pranked were marked with a image of a fish on their backs. I and the servant's children got into a lot of mischief during that time."

 

I dig in as she explains, moaning at the taste. "God woman you are a magician. This is amazing!"

 

She laughs, getting paler (if that's even possible) at my very loud noises of approval. "You are too kind Tegan. I've… missed having someone to care for, and they care for me. It hasn't been long, but already I feel better than I have since I was Turned."

 

"I'm guessing since we're both here right now, and the fact that my Hairy friend chose you and all, the relationship with the woman who turned you didn't last?"

 

Sara sighs, shaking her head. "No. We lived for many years together traveling from place to place until Hunters discovered us and we had to flee suddenly; we were separated in the confusion. While I was saddened for awhile at her and I's untimely parting, I realize now that what happened needed to occur in order for us to be led to each other. I searched for a couple hundred years off and on but had no luck. I hope she is happy wherever she is hiding, and nothing more."

 

"Wow." I say, immediately shuddering at such a lackluster response to such a serious story. "I mean… that must've been hard to go through, I couldn't even imagine- well I guess I sort of could. My Dad… he was totally nuts. We lived in the middle of nowhere and I hated him for that growing up. I wanted to go to school and meet people and see the world but he wouldn't let me; he was always going on about chem-trails and global conspiracies and the illuminati. And then after the other Wolf got me he retreated into himself even more and we didn't even go for hikes in the woods or anything anymore. But when I uh, when I lost him this past year to cancer I was torn apart. He refused to go to the hospital until he was so incoherent I had to take him myself and I remember being so angry at him for that, it was like he didn't even want to save himself. But after he died, I missed him more than I've missed anyone else before. So to wait and search for centuries for someone that you truly cared and loved wholeheartedly? I can't even imagine that pain."

 

Suddenly the food isn't as appetizing as it once was, my stomach turning uncomfortably as what I'd managed to bury so successfully returns to the surface. 

 

Sara's soft, icy palm reaches across the table to find mine, her thumb rubbing the back of my hand soothingly and I wish nothing more than to just fall into her embrace and never leave, to submerge myself in her and to live inside her touch. Fear, anxiety, pain, loss. It's like they don't exist any longer when her searching eyes find mine.

 

"Tegan I have seen triumphs and falls from grace, leaders rise and enemies fall, bombs explode and gardens planted. This World is an unforgiving place, but She leads us through Her ups and downs until She deems us worn down and broken enough to fully understand what She has given us in return. All of the things we have faced, you and I, led us to this moment, to this bond we have been gifted. Remember that."

 

She is beauty and brilliance and nothing else matters when her lips touch mine and her other hand reaches to cup my jaw. Nothing.

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of everything I’ve ever written, I think this chapter is probably my favorite. Please enjoy :)

I breathe shallowly, eyes scanning the pages before me, feet resting on the coffee table, evening light filtering through the blinds. Tegan snores, huffing in her sleep and shifting slightly before settling again as I absentmindedly rest a calming hand on her side. I turn the page, mind drifting, the ghost of Tegan's lips on my own still lingering even hours after it happened.

 

It had been heated but short, Tegan pulling back and blushing, averting her gaze to the table. The smile that had grown painfully wide on my own face after we'd pulled away from each other had refused to revert to its usual thinly pressed line, no matter how hard I'd tried. When Tegan had noticed, she'd looked up and smiled too. The tension of the moment had dissipated as quickly as it had swooped in, and we'd fallen back into the easy companionship that has encompassed the last couple of days since the Bond has started to take hold.

 

I feel at peace, a slightly sluggish feeling in my bones, and realize how deeply we have submerged within each other in such a rapid fashion I think back to the entry on bonds I had read before Tegan's Wolf had forced her change and we'd been thrust together so clumsily. Her presence invokes a feeling of contentment I have never in my years felt before. Every fibre of the predatory side of my being tells me to run, to hide, not to give in to this feeling, but doing so would be the end of both of us. Tegan's Wolf would not let her live without the one She has chosen.

 

Tegan shifts again beneath me, muttering something under her breath. I look down and her bleary eyes find mine, a blossom of protectiveness burning in my chest as I watch her wake, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. 

 

"Morning." She rumbles, voice scratchy with misuse. 

 

"Evening." I correct, a slight smirk twitching at my lips as I set down my book, meeting her gaze. 

 

She reaches up to cup my jaw, her fingers burning my skin with their heat, with their unvoiced connection, and I lean down to connect our lips for a second taste.

 

We take our time, my tongue swiping at her bottom lip as our kiss begins to deepen. She opens her mouth without resistance, allowing me to explore her's with ease, the little moan she releases as I do so ringing in my ears.

 

We pull away when it is obvious she can't go any longer without resurfacing for air, and in that moment I can't help but curse her inability to live without filling her lungs. I adjust myself so I am straddling her hips and we share a few more kisses, quickly little things that melt on each other's lips, the sides of our noses brushing against one another as our foreheads touch and our bodies meld together.

 

"I want you." She breathes. "Fuck I want you."

 

The building heat in my pelvis sparks into a raging fire at her words, but I restrain myself from the instincts ordering me to simply climbing atop her and fuck her right into the cushions. "Are you sure Tegan? You know what we'll both have to do right?"

 

"She's telling me what to do. I can feel Her directing me. She wants this; I want this." Tegan pants, her hands finding my own and interlocking our fingers. "I've never wanted anything more in my life."

 

"Then you need to know one more thing about my bite." I say nervously, avoiding her gaze. What if she doesn't want this after I tell her? "I'll be able to see some of your memories. They'll really be nothing more than blurry images, but it is still an invasion of your self."

 

She's silent for a moment, almost contemplative, before seeming to harden with resolution. "You have revealed some of your pain and I've revealed some of mine. If we're going to make this work we have to be honest about our past selves. Sara, I-I trust you more than I trust anyone else."

 

Her words push me over the edge and suddenly our bodies are pressed together, her heat melting into the iciness of my skin, our clothing torn off and scattered on the floor. My hands roam her body as hers find the skin of my back, both of us pinching and caressing, and she moans helplessly beneath me as I suck along the underside of her jaw, her chest heaving, her head thrown back, the mix of our scents in the air intoxicating.

 

I can see her Wolf in her submissiveness, the way her eyes flash golden at my displays of dominance, a snarl pulling at my lips as my incisors sink out of my gums and flash white against the evening light filtering through the blinds.

 

And then my fingers find her entrance and I'm sinking inside and fuck if her sudden gasp at the intrusion isn't the most glorious sound I have ever heard in my centuries of existence. The bond is strengthening, her body a ghostly extension of my own, slick with sweat beneath me.

 

She starts to tighten around me as I thrust two, then three fingers inside, the noises escaping her lips becoming more frantic, and I feel her blood begin to sing to me. The thirst, usually nothing more than an annoying ache now becoming a raging desire to worship her and the life that flows through her. Her eyes, now completely golden, stare up at me and I feel the devotion flowing from her gaze fill me with the strength and courage to do this. Yes, I must.

 

She cries out as she peaks and suddenly I'm crashing too, and I lick her skin once before digging deep into that place where her shoulder meets her neck as she does the same to mine with teeth that aren't her own, her body twitching as I drink and  _ we are running, the wind blowing through our fur, the blood of a fresh kill drying on our lips. _

_ "Tegan!" He yells, the alcohol on his breath suffocating. "They want to kill us Tegan! They're poisoning us look around you! Nothing is natural in this world anymore, the government is genetically engineering us to be their slaves! Look arou- _

_ I am in his face in an instant, wide awake, anger flaring suddenly and brightly in my chest. "Don't fucking call her that." _

 

I feel her panting underneath me as I return, my incisors sliding back up into my gums smoothly, one of her hands running softly through my hair, the other resting on my ass. I feel a dull ache near my collar bone, fulfillment filling my chest like a warm drink on a cold night.

 

"You are exquisite." I whisper, feeling her strong arms move to wrap tightly around my torso in reply. And then there is nothing but love, pushed from her to me through a bond we must now learn to navigate, its insistence overwhelming, and I can't help but feel that this moment, right here and now, will be the most prodigious experience of my existence.

 

We lay there and send our love and affection to the other for a long time, sweat cooling and drying on her skin, our lips occasionally connecting for an unhurried meeting before finding other skin to map along jawlines and necks and shoulders.

 

Eventually I sense her slip away once again into sleep, her movements slowing to a stop, her breathing evening out to a gentle puff of air against my cheek. I hold her as I have been, my eyes studying the bite I left behind, which has already healed into two white evenly spaced dots of scar tissue, slightly raised but not causing any discomfort.

 

I reach up to my own, my fingers quickly finding where she made her own mark on me, two even sets of canine teeth forever imprinted on my skin. This is it, no turning back or changing our minds now. The bond has been consummated through our mutual joining and our bites. We each are marked as the other's now. 

 

I nestle my head into her neck and think. My whole life has been one of searching, of looking but always finding that discovery was just out of reach. I feel now that I have found what I was looking for, the woman who restlessly traveled and drifted on whims, the woman without an anchor even when she was with the one she thought was hers, was killed tonight.

 

I have found my home in the body of another. It is a feeling I can not put properly into words, even if I wanted to.

  
  



End file.
